The Indiana Supreme Court has carved out an exception for Indiana Tech Law School, enabling the first graduating class to continue working toward state licensure.
The Supreme Court is allowing the Fort Wayne law school’s third-year students to apply to take the state bar exam in July 2016. The applications for the summer exam are due in April but Indiana Tech will still be going through the accreditation process at that time.
Acknowledging the law school will not learn of its accreditation status until after the application deadline has passed, the Supreme Court has granted conditional authorization for the students who will graduate in June.
However, the Supreme Court limited its order to applications. It held that if the law school does not gain provisional accreditation, the graduates who applied to take the bar exam will not be eligible to sit for the test.
Indiana Admission and Discipline Rule 13 section 4 requires that everyone who applies for admission to the state bar must be a graduate of a law school accredited by the American Bar Association.
Indiana Tech Law School opened in August 2013, and the inaugural class is scheduled to graduate in June 2016. The institution went through the provisional accreditation process during the 2014-2015 school year but the ABA denied approval.
Shortly before classes started for the 2015 fall semester, the law school started the accreditation process again. It resubmitted its application materials and is preparing for a site visit from an ABA team in October.
The law school expects the ABA will issue a decision in June 2016.
